This invention pertains to dental tool purging apparatus and, in particular, to a dental handpiece lubrication purging apparatus that is designed to maintain dental handpieces while, at the same time, meeting all health and safety regulations.
There have been a number of new regulations that require proper removal of excess lubricants that are required to maintain air or gas powered high and low speed drills, mechanical scalers, mechanical condensers and other dental tools. There have been a number of attempts to deal with this problem. The United States Patent issued to J. J. Valeska, U.S. Pat. No. 3,556,669 on Jan. 19, 1971 shows a system for fluid control in dental instruments which details an adjustable air pressure controls and valving means for controlling the air pressure to a number of different handpieces. The U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,226 issued to Raymond D. Elliott on Feb. 20, 1990 shows a dental air supply system which consists of a plurality of modular sections that allows the user to accomplish a plurality of dental functions that are necessary.
What is needed is an apparatus which can be connected to any air or gas driven dental tool for the purpose of blowing air and gas through the tool's inlet ports and purging it of any excess substance within those tubes or chambers. The apparatus is designed to entrap those substances as they are blown or purged into an internal filter or an external flexible sleeve, without requiring the instrument being cleaned to be held by an individual.
It is the object of this invention to teach a dental handpiece lubrication purging apparatus which avoids the disadvantages and limitations, recited above. Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus that is simple to operate, extremely effective and very cost effective with great ease of connection with a number of different style handpieces. It is also the object of this invention to teach an apparatus which has a multiple task capability, timing control and can be easily connected with the existing air supply found in all dental offices.